Oncology Counsellor - Northwood, United Kingdom - East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust

Description

Job overview

We are recruiting for an Oncology Counsellor who shares our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.

The Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre provides support and information to patients and carers attending Mount Vernon Cancer Centre for treatments such as chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. It is a valuable resource for people affected by cancer and is staffed by oncology trained health professionals, complementary therapists, counsellors, an art therapist and psychologist, and other volunteers with a wide variety of experience. The centre's status is part NHS and part charitable.

The successful candidate will assess patients, plan and implement an appropriate specialist psychological intervention for cancer patients and maintain associated records. You will liaise and provide specialist advice to the wider multi-disciplinary team and provide training to medical and non-medical staff and students, as appropriate. You will assist the Lead by taking part in research and audit in the specialist area of cancer counselling. Also, you will act in accordance with, and undertake continued professional development, in line with their governing professional body and in house guidelines

Our Values are Include, Respect and Improve. It is important that you understand and refer to our values during your recruitment process and beyond

Main duties of the job

Use highly specialised therapeutic skills and theoretical frameworks to assess suitability of patients and carers, for psychological interventions.

To autonomously plan and implement a course of counselling (up to six sessions) to meet the individual needs of patients and/or carers.

To plan and organise own caseload.

Able to run therapeutic groups for patients and carers.

To organise and make decisions regarding referrals to other services.

To be responsible for using clinical supervision to facilitate work with patient.

Maintain client case notes and write letters following counselling sessions in accordance with local policy and guidelines for best practice.

Communicate with the wider multi-disciplinary team regarding the outcome of psychological assessment and treatment.

To take part in training to provide specialist training to other staff and/or volunteers.

Working for our organisation

At East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general & specialist services we provide & our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible & innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford
• Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC), Northwood

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation; our staff & patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We understand that finding and starting a new job is an important life decision. If you need reasonable adjustments for a disability, or a life event, such as menopause - so that we can consider your application fairly & to get the best out of you during the selection process, please let us know.

We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. Employees are entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns & we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made & considered formally, & will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

ENHT is seeking to maintain and expand the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre staff as we move to an exciting new future.

We welcome applications from those who would relish the opportunity to be part of new and developing cancer service, building on the excellent reputation, research and patient experience the Cancer Centre already delivers.

In addition, you will receive a High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of your basic salary, subject to a minimum payment of £4,314 and a maximum payment of £5,436 per annum pro rata.

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.

Person specification

Qualifications/Training

Essential criteria

• B.A.C.P accredited counsellor
• Minimum education post graduate diploma in counselling
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by counselling governing body.

Previous Experience

Essential criteria

• Post qualification experience in a clinical health setting.
• An understanding of cancer patients' psychological, social, physical and spiritual issues

Desirable criteria

• Experience of clinical work with cancer patients.
• Experience of providing two or more distinct psychological therapies.
• Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
• To have worked clinically within the NHS and have an understanding of its structure

Skills

Essential criteria

• Counselling skills- ability to assess, intervene and build therapeutic relationships, in order to work with people affected by cancer.
• Strong communication skills both verbal and written
• Strong communication skills both verbal and written
• Excellent interpersonal skills; ability to work autonomously as well as within a team
• Facilitation skills
• Intense concentration for long periods
• To work in possibly highly distressing and emotional circumstances.
• Dealing with possible hostility

Desirable criteria

• Report/letter writing
• Familiarity with the use of computers and IT
• Presentation skills

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Working knowledge of a variety of psychological therapies.
• Specialist knowledge of the practice of psychological therapy with cancer patients.
• Awareness of the impact of cancer on the patient, carers and families.
• Current Law as applicable to counselling practice and confidentiality
• Quality of life issues
• Understanding of importance of ethics, standards and evidence based practice

Desirable criteria

• Role of LJMC within the cancer network and wider community
• NHS and its structure
• Awareness of use of complementary therapies with cancer patients
• Local resources In depth understanding of cancer and its medical treatments

Other Requirements

Essential criteria

• Integrity, empathy and self awareness
• Respect for patients confidentiality
• Open-minded approach to people of all cultures and abilities
• Sense of responsibility
• Sensitivity to stresses in dealing with cancer
• Ability to identify and employ as appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material.

Our values

We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do.

Include
We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.

Respect
We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.

Improve
We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.

Committed to our Community

East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients and the wider community. We want to create a workforce which represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background. In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce .

We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.

We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing

We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.

We are committed to being a carer-friendly environment, addressing the complex needs of families with caring responsibilities. In partnership with Carers in Hertfordshire, all our working carers have access to support from recruitment. We are also a member of Carers UK, providing resources to make balancing work and caring easier. Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.